Joonas Castrén- Portfolio

PROFILE

MSc Architecture candidate at TU Delft and graduate of the University of Virginia. Native of Finland, based in Delft, Netherlands and the Washington D.C area. Interested in interdisciplinary, efficient, and sustainable architecture practice.

CONTENTS

01: Urban Canopy- school + bazaar

02: Agritecture- speculative design

03: Rapid Shelter- research paper + dwelling

04: Richmond Loop(s)- collective housing

05: Anamorphic cube- game prototype

06: Mandi trade corridor- research studio

01: Urban Canopy

SCHOOL + BAZAAR

Fall ‘23, MSc Architecture

Instructor: Job Schroën

The Urban Canopy combines a community school and a bazaar in Antakya, the epicenter of the devastating 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes. The goal of the project is to integrate earthquake-resilient building techniques and local needs within the reconstruction masterplan by Foster + Partners.

The building is located at an intersection of the Roman city center, mixeduse housing, and cultural districits. The building is a “village” of rammed-earth cubes sheltered by a high-performance space-frame roof. This creates a pleasant microclimate within the site that is adapted to Antakya’s Mediterranean-like condition. These materials were chosen for their cooling properties in Antakya’s hot climate and the need to spur demand for local suppliers struggling post-earthquake. It ties Antakya’s different religious & ethnic factions to their collective heritage.

During the evening and weekends, the school opens up to the community. The cafeteria and bazaar stalls sell baked goods for locals and tourists. For safety during the schoolday, sectors are closed-off and students can travel between classrooms with an elevated catwalk, supported by branching tree-like columns.

Pedestrian street elevation

Regional analysis

Aerial view collage (base image from Foster + Partners masterplan)

The school buildings are separated for easy access to the outdoors. The warm hue and texture of the rammed earth classrooms convey a sense of stability and elementality. Children have been reported to fear enclosed spaces and stoft-storey structures after the earthquakes.

Collaged view of rammed earth classrooms

Small

Small bussiness bazaar

Old

Old

Old

Neighborhood-scale gesture

Concept diagram

(w/ Gijs van der Kerk & Joyce de Louw)

Earthquake-resilient joinery case study

1:20 section fragment of school building

0

0

1. Storm water pipe

2. Corten steel branching column

3. Excess heat duct

4. Hanger straps

5. Straps for cable bridge

6. Metal plate

7. Bolt

8. Mero-system node

9. Bottom chord member

10. Mount for polycarbonate panel

11. Photovoltaic panel & mounts

12. Upper chord member

ROOF & BRIDGE DETAIL 1:5

1.Metal-glass door

2. Door lintel

3. Interior finish

4. Insulation

5. Rebar

6. Stabilized rammed earth wall

7. T-shaped steel bar

8. Anchoring bolts

9. Bond beam

10. Double-glazed window

11. Ceiling frame

12. Ramp with hinge

13. Bridge deck

FLOOR DETAIL 1:5

1.Structural slab

2. Gravel

3. Rigid Insulation

4. Floor slab

5.Waterproof membrane

6. Stabilized rammed earth wall

7. Steel knife-edge connector

8. Window frame

9. Operable glass window

10. Insulation

11. Rebar

12. Grade sloping from wall

Joonas Castrén [11]

02: Agritecture

4TH-YEAR THESIS

Spring ‘22, BS.Arch

Instructor: John Comazzi

The year is 2050 and Agritecture’s first phase of construction is completed in the “climate haven” of Buffalo, NY. As my thesis, it is both a compilation of my research into sustainable living, and a beginning of exploring empathetic architecture in the age of climate-induced migration.

As a sprawling, self-sustaining commune, Agritecture takes inspiration from closed-loop greenhouse homes in the Nordics and the mid-century speculations of firms such as Archigram. It places housing in equal importance with the essential infrastructures of food and energy production. This is made possible by a system of 5m x 5m x 3m scaffold-like modules that house aquaponics, vertical farms, and solar energy storage. The same structural technique is used in different scaled housing units that can be aggregated in the most appropriate way, such as lowrise for daycares and the elderly, and higher-rise units for students, laborers, and engineers. They are then pixelated around the site to avoid socioeconomic segregation and maintain a technical and “spiritual” connection to the farming modules.

The regularity of the modules allows the building to be expanded over time, meaning the ratio of housing vs. food production can be adjusted based on the degree of climate migration. Construction of future sectors begins with greenhouses which pioneer species of plants leeching out toxins from the soil, followed by housing modules.

Throughout the building, the byproducts of one module are used to fuel another, meaning as much energy and nutrients are cycled throughout to complete a closed energy loop. For example, the grey water from toilets is filtered and processed, then pumped to the planter modules for irrigation.

Roof elevation

Interior programming Module key

The project finds a balance between the economies of scale that standardization provides but avoids an oppressive, monotonous plan with its indoor streetscape and outdoor plaza. Food is a vessel for memory and culture, a profound touchstone for climate migrants, that should be emphasized as we navigate our uncertain climate future.

Plaza view

Section

03: Rapid Shelter

RESEARCH + DWELLING

Spring ‘21 & Spring ‘22

BS.Arch, Instructor: Earl Mark & Phoebe Crisman

The future of Shishmaref, a remote Alaskan village, is jeopardized by encroaching sea levels, altered seasons, and thawing permafrost. It is a powerful reminder in how slow-onset climate change is disproportionately felt by non-polluters, particularly indigenous populations with largely subsistence-based lifestyles. Shishmaref, like many native arctic communities, is grappling whether to uproot the village further inland (relocation) or possibly incorporate into a larger town (colocation).

Shishmaref was the subject of my research in the semester-long Global Studies capstone course, as well as an architecture elective on the design of rapidly deployable shelters post-disaster. The shelter prototype illustrated here is a study of designing culturally and climatically compatible housing with “multiple lives”- first as a transitional housing during construction work and ultimately as a hunter’s hut. I used the capstone course as an opportunity to zoom out and study the legislative and ethical questions related to community relocation, ultimately presenting a list of best practices on how to do so in the most sensitive manner.

1. Delivery to site

2. Maneuvering at site

3. Settlement

The shelter can be rapidly disassembled and moved along the coast or further inland to expand the range of fishermen and hunters. The base unit houses 1-2 adults but may be combined with other modules to suit families with children. The simple construction materials make it easy to customize, and the low profile counters high wind and snow loads.

& section

Elevation

GSVS Capstone Research Project Spring 2022

Climate-Induced Migration: Theories and Logistics of Indigenous Community Relocation in Shishmaref, Alaska.

Joonas Castrén

Advised by: Professor Phoebe Crisman & Spencer Phillips

Cover page of capstone research paper

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Global Environments & Sustainability

Shishmaref is located on a barrier island that is subject to high winds, waves, and thawing permafrost so its soil is in flux. Like traditional Qarmaqs, inter-seasonal igloo-tent hybrids, the soft ground necessitates a lightweight, maneuverable structure. This is why the prototype has adjustable cribbing foundations. It thermally separates the building from the ground and keeps it level despite the shifting and settling of the soil.

University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA

of the Iñupiat are largely smoked meats of hunted seals, and much of the cooking is conducted outdoors over open pits. This means the kitchens would be largely used for preparation work rather than cooking meals from scratch.

The unit maintains a sense of openness and togetherness in its floor layout. The standard kitchenette appliances and other furniture can be removed since the diet

Aerial view of Shishmaref (Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development)

13.

15.

1. Weather-proof roof finish

2. Insulated structural panel (ISP) roof

3. Window frame

4. Opaque retractable curtain

5. Semi-opaque retractable curtain

6. Curtain handle

7. Transparent plastic window

8. Ply-wood floor finish

9. Glu-lam beam

10. Insulation

11. Collapisble frame

12. Cavity for running utilities

13. Removable step ladder for porch

14. Collapsible trusses of adjustable cribbing foundations

15. Gravel base

Structural section

04: Richmond Loop(s)

COLLECTIVE HOUSING

Spring ‘20, BS.Arch

Instructor: Anthony Averbeck,

This studio focused on researching mass housing precedents and culminated in a collective housing project in the nearby state capital. Richmond Loop(s) responds to damage of 1960s ad-hoc urbanism as a mixed-income housing project in the heart of the city. It serves as a social catalyst in the crossroads of the car-centric development on the north side of E.Broad St. with the pedestrian oriented to its south. Loop(s) disrupts the expectation that urban housing must be hyper-compact, squeezing as many units into as little square footage as possible. This project places equal importance on relieving the shortage of affordable housing with social interaction as well as connection to greenery. Its mixed-use design fosters a non-hierarchical future of urban housing in Richmond.

By elevating the building on a grid of columns, the ground level is freed to act as a public park for both residents and neighbors. Bus riders can meander through the site while embraced by trees and a reflecting pool- rarities in the dense city. The site’s connection to public transport enables non-residents to access fresh foods through its market, addressing the area’s food desert problem.

Section through communal ground level

Upper loop

Double height family unit is connected to the open air with a spacious lightwell and cutout balcony. A kitchen counter wraps around the inside, maximizing the available floor space for family activities. The counter has a different program based on its height in the compact student unit, folding from a kitchen counter to a media stand.

Lower loop

Ground

Massing iterations & unit types

Hallway

Kitchen-living-dining-bathroom

Bedroom

Joonas

Access to natural light is ensured by arranging the units into a loop pattern around an interior courtyard. The units facing the traffic of E. Broad street are slightly sheltered by being set back. Cutouts into the family speak to southern “porch culture” seen in single-family homes. This fosters conversations and connections with neighbors, breaking down a potential sense of isolation.

Section cut

Plan of lower loop

Axonometric from NE

05: Anamorphic cube

GAME DESIGN

Fall ‘18, BS.Arch

Instructor: Belén González Aranguren

This puzzle challenges players to use dowels to recreate two-dimensional patterns from a cue card inside a three-dimensional acrylic cube.

This prompt in the introductory design studio invited students to design, illustrate, and prototype an original board game or puzzle of their imagination. This was a fast-track of a complete design process, starting with precedent research, sketching preliminary concepts, crafting a prototype by hand, and finally producing a video showcasing how the game or puzzle is played before an audience of peers and professors.

The puzzle’s beauty lies in both the visual and material simplicity of the game. Requiring just three materials (paper, dowels, acrylic), the game is affordable and easy to manufacture in bulk. Also, its simple premise is approachable for players of all ages. However, the level of challenge can be easily adjusted with cue cards that have diagonal, or otherwise more complex shapes to be recreated.

1. Puzzle card

2. Assembly

3. Completed puzzle

Game set

Game piece & cue card

The cue card on the left shows which patterned dowels are required to create the pattern on the card. The player must then set the respective dowels through the perforations in the cube to recreate said shape from the front view.

Front view

06: Mandi trade corridor

RESEARCH STUDIO- YAMUNA RIVER PROJECT:

Fall ‘21, BS.Arch

Instructors: Pankaj Vir Gupta & María

González Aranguren

Collab: mapping & landscape by Fanke Su (MLA ‘22) & research w/ Oliver Church (BS. Arch ‘22)

This project reimagines the mandi, a traditional wholesale facility for the exchange of agricultural products by incorporating civic programming like clinics, schools, government offices, and public spaces to promote exchange between the urban and rural populace. It is a generous, sustainable, and localized addition to the urban fabric of the city.

The mandi’s design is informed by months of collective research by our interdisciplinary studio which included extensive GIS mapping studies, Zoom discussions with local decision-makers, and even movie marathons to gain a sense of the complex, layered challenges facing Jaipur. These include water scarcity, rural poverty, and friction between social classes.

view

Top

The mandi master plan proposes trade hubs at key nodes along NH-52, a northsouth highway that divides the urban and rural regions. Along with anganwadis (rural child care centers), cold storage facilities, and afforestation sites west of the highway, the project is a holistic response to improve Jaipur’s social and ecological resilience.

Map of nodes along NH-52 (w/ Fanke Su)

Bioretention strategy (w/ Fanke Su)

Alternative

configurations along NH-52

Conceptual plans & final diagrams

The trade hub softens the intensity of the highway’s edge by routing heavier traffic through service lanes. Pedestrians can safely gather, cross the highway, and circulate through the building with a network of suspended catwalks. Sloped roofs collect rainwater into underground tanks for washing produce and operating public lavatories. Also, a bioremediation layer collects rainwater during the monsoon season.

Aerial view

Exterior view

JOONAS CASTRÉN

MSc Architecture candidate ‘25 (TU Delft)

B.S. Arch. & B.A. Global Sustainability ‘22 (University of Virginia)